Here comes Sunday Brunch and Ryan with the Morning Skate. Did you come with a hat? Well here it goes.
The Morning After:
Yesterday’s scores:
Flyers 4, Rangers 1
Bruins 3, Capitals 2
Coyotes 4, Islanders 3 (SO)
Hurricanes 4, Ducks 2
Thrashers 7, Devils 1
Stars 2, Blue Jackets 1
Canucks 4, Maple Leafs 1
Lightning 3, Sabres 1
Sharks 4, Blues 1
Kings 6, Predators 1
Wild 3, Flames 1
Predictions record: 8-3
My 3 stars of the night:
1. Eric Staal, CAR (3 Goals)… Captain Staal collected his 12th (!) hat trick of his career – in a little over one period, no less.
2. Eric Boulton, ATL (3 Goals)
3. Brad Richards, DAL (2 Goals)
Close but no cigar: T. Thomas, BOS; L. Couture, SJ; R. Smyth, LA; N. Zherdev, PHI; M. Koivu, MIN; K. Lehtonen, DAL; C. Thorburn, ATL; J. Hansen, VAN; R. Vrbata, PHX
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Tonight’s Slate:
Stars @ Red Wings, 5:00 ET
Kings @ Blackhawks, 7:00
Capitals @ Senators, 7:30
Canadiens @ Avalanche, 8:00
Games of the Night:
Dallas Stars @ Detroit Red Wings
5:00 ET… TV: Local Networks
Records:
Overall: Stars (19-10-3) … Red Wings (20-8-3)
Last Ten: Stars (6-2-2) … Red Wings (5-4-1)
Away/Home: Stars (8-7-1) … Red Wings (12-4-2)
Season Series: 1-0 Stars
Players to watch:
DAL- Steve Ott
Call it a hunch, but if Dallas wins I think Ott needs to chip in.
DET- Nicklas Lidstrom
Look for the captain to bounce back after a -3 performance on Friday.
Projected Goaltenders:
DAL- Kari Lehtonen (2010/11 stats: 14-7-3, 2.58 GAA)
DET- Jimmy Howard (2010/11 stats: 17-6-2, 2.62 GAA)
Injury Report:
DAL- Krys Barch (ankle, out)
DET- Mike Modano (wrist, out)
Game Thoughts:
Less than 24 hours after beating Columbus, the Stars travel to Detroit to try to get another two points against a frustrated Detroit club. Mike Babcock and company have been inconsistent lately, but will look to rebound tonight. I believe the Stars will keep this one close, but the Wings’ determination wins out here.
Prediction: Red Wings 3, Stars 2
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Los Angeles Kings @ Chicago Blackhawks
7:00 ET… TV: Local Networks
Records:
Overall: Kings (18-11-1) … Blackhawks (17-14-3)
Last Ten: Kings (5-4-1) … Blackhawks (6-3-1)
Away/Home: Kings (7-9-0) … Blackhawks (9-9-0)
Season Series: 2-0 Blackhawks
Players to watch:
LA- Drew Doughty
Can Doughty build off last night’s two-night performance in Nashville?
CHI- Patrick Sharp
Sharp is a Kings killer (15 goals and 24 assists in 18 games vs. LA)
Projected Goaltenders:
LA- Jonathan Quick (2010/11 stats: 15-6-1, 1.98 GAA)
CHI- Corey Crawford (2010/11 stats: 9-6-1, 2.41 GAA)
Injury Report:
LA- Willie Mitchell (lower body, out), Matt Greene (upper body, doubtful), Brad Richardson (upper body, out), Scott Parse (hip, out), Marco Sturm (knee, out)
CHI- Patrick Kane (ankle, out), Marian Hossa (lower body, out), Viktor Stalberg (upper body, out)
Game Thoughts:
Like Dallas, the Kings will look to build off a big win over the red-hot Preds just one night ago. They scored six goals, shaking off a bad loss in St. Louis two nights prior. The ‘Hawks had arguably their best performance of the year on Friday against the Wings and need to carry over that effort. Chicago has won five straight at home over the Kings, and I think they’ll make it six with a shootout win here.
Prediction: Blackhawks 4, Kings 3 (SO)
The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Senators over Capitals
Canadiens over Avalanche
